If you thought China had forgotten.......

[StarOfAfrica2]

Who said only the winners get to write history?  

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
.c The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's prime minister Monday demanded China take responsibility for the safety of Japanese working in China and said it was ``very regrettable'' that protesters threw rocks at the Tokyo's embassy in Beijing and Japanese students were beaten up.

Demonstrations against Japan have spread across China after Tokyo last week approved a revised edition of a school history textbook critics say whitewashes Japan's brutal wartime colonization of Asian nations last century.

About 1,000 people threw rocks and broke windows at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Saturday, while two Japanese students were beaten with beer mugs and ashtrays at a Shanghai restaurant.

Meanwhile, 10,000 people gathered outside a Japanese-run supermarket in the southern city of Shenzhen on Sunday to call for a boycott of Japanese goods.

``It is very regrettable. This kind of thing must not be allowed to happen,'' Prime Minister Junchiro Koizumi said of the damage inflicted by the protesters. ``China is responsible for the safety of Japanese people who are working in China. I would like them to be well aware of this.''

Asked how he would respond to the injuries suffered by Japanese citizens, Koizumi said ``I ask that China do all it can to prevent a recurrence.''

Earlier Monday, Koizumi's top spokesman said Tokyo was seriously concerned by the demonstrations and appealed for calm to prevent worsening tensions between the two Asian powers.

``We are deeply troubled by the recent developments,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said. ``We are next-door neighbors and our diplomatic relations are extremely important. We should not let misunderstandings grow.''

Hiroshi Okuda, the chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. and the head of Japan's biggest business lobby, Nippon Keidanren, said he hoped the Chinese and Japanese governments would subdue the tensions. Still, he said he was optimistic the protests would only affect corporate Japan temporarily.

``There may be a brief impact on Japanese companies. But given some time, the situation will calm down,'' Okuda said, adding that ordinary citizens had not joined the mostly student demonstrators.

The weekend protests in the tightly controlled Chinese capital were the largest in years. Japanese officials have complained that Chinese authorities failed to provide adequate security despite repeated requests last week to boost protection of Japanese interests.

Hosoda, however, said it would not be helpful to pursue those accusations for now, adding that Tokyo wanted to resolve the matter diplomatically.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura summoned China's ambassador on Sunday to lodge a protest, and demand an apology and compensation for damages.

Anti-Japanese sentiment runs deep among Chinese, with many resenting what they see as Tokyo's failure to atone for its wartime aggression.

The history books, written by nationalist scholars, were approved by Japan's Education Ministry for use in schools beginning April 2006.

This current group in charge just cant seem to keep out of trouble.  In the last 6 months they have pissed off China, South Korea, and the Philippines.  Not looking to be a good year to be Japanese in the world.  Now we Americans arent so lonely.

[Engine]

Eh? Why is China currently upset with Japan?

[Holden McGroin]

It has something to do with the sinking of Kublai Khan's fleet.

[ASTAC]

can you blame em..though it was a long time ago...the Japs were very brutal to all they over ran at the beginning of the war...now they are trying to make it seem like it was not so bad...Thats like us saying what we did to Heroshima was a minor event.

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Engine
Eh? Why is China currently upset with Japan?

Japan has internally maintained a stance that they were justified in their behaviour and actions during WW2.

Imagine if someone wrote a book in Japan saying the US were a bunch of losers and deserved to be attacked, that Pearl was a great victory, American airmen deserved to be beheaded and tortured, British and American civilian women captured at Singapore deserved to become sex slaves or executed. Then officially sanctioned said book for use in schools.

Thats pretty much what is happening.

[Elfie]

Japan has internally maintained a stance that they were justified in their behaviour and actions during WW2.

Of course they do, anything else would be a *lose of face*. Can't have that now can we?

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by ASTAC
can you blame em..though it was a long time ago...the Japs were very brutal to all they over ran at the beginning of the war...now they are trying to make it seem like it was not so bad...Thats like us saying what we did to Heroshima was a minor event.

I think a better comparison (before yet another WWII a-bomb justification thread) would be the US and Native Americans.

[Gh0stFT]

i wonder how comes all those chinese yesterday so calm and today all flip out, as if they where just waiting.
But maybe its just me & my whiskey tonight ;*)

[DmdBT]

I thought Tom Cruise got the emporer all straightened out... what did I miss??

[Jackal1]

Originally posted by DmdBT
I thought Tom Cruise got the emporer all straightened out... what did I miss??

The sequel.

[storch]

the rape of nanking google it

[Rolex]

Great. More hyperbole, myths and misinformation being spread at the speed of light.

[GtoRA2]

Rolex
 Are you going to point out what you think is wrong or what?

[Glasses]

Bah if you think they're pist now wiat until the Japanese unleash their Bipedal armored tanks.

Then the Japwnage will begin.

[Engine]

Originally posted by Vulcan
Japan has internally maintained a stance that they were justified in their behaviour and actions during WW2.

Maintained, as in they just recently came out and said "We were oh so totally right to own you"?

I find it hard to believe that after 60 years there's a sudden outbreak of violence with no immediate cause.